Pull-tight one-piece security seal, adapted for the closure of bags or the like

ABSTRACT

A one-piece pull-tight or strap-type security seal adapted for closing bags or the like that is designer to be easily applied in comparison with existing ones. One seal of this type has a lever operation in which a clousure strap ( 4 ) is integral with a central or operating portion ( 2 ) that is, in turn, integral with a lever member ( 6 ) to which the strap may be fixed during application around the neck of a bag to be closed. The lever member is then pivoted outwardly and backwardly over the opening portion, tightening the loop so formed by means of a lever action, and then locked by security locking formations ( 16, 19 ) to effect sealing. The closure strap is for all effects flat, its formations for fixing it to the lever member ( 6 ) including a series of orifices ( 7 ) distributed along its length, whereas the immobilizing formation for the closure strap includes a first protuberance ( 15 ) adapted, on formation of the loop ( 25 ), to be received in one of the orifices ( 7 ). The operating member ( 2 ) may be provided with an elastic hook ( 24 ) that, in the closed position of the seal, passes through another of the orifices ( 7 ) in the closure strap so as to maintain the seal closed even if the locking formations are damaged or broken. A separate seal ( 26 ) is also described, in one embodiment, so as to permit uses of the one-piece seal ( 1 ) after the first use when the securing locking formations ( 16, 19 ) have already been damaged or broken.

The present invention refers to a pull-tight or strap-type securityseal, adapted for the closure of bags or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Pull-tight or strap-type security seals that are specially suitable forthe closure of the neck or mouth of bags and the like are already known.Such type of seal is better exemplified by that disclosed andillustrated in Brazilian Patent PI8100037 and its corresponding CanadianPatent 1,222,131. This known seal comprises an operating portionintegral, at its two ends, with a closure strap and a lever member. Thelever member is foldable over the operating member and can be locked inthis position by locking formations on the respective portions. Theclosure strap comprises a thread having a series of ball- or sphere-typeformations along its length. During placement of the seal, the strap ispassed around the neck of the bag to be closed and sealed, forming aloop. It is then passed through a guide slot in the operating portion toguide it to the lever member where it is inserted through a keyholeopening in the lever member. The seal is then manually tightened toclose the neck of the bag and the length of the loop thus tightened isdetermined by manipulating the strap so that the part of the strap thatremains between ball-type formations is fitted into the narrow part ofthe keyhole opening. This operation requires some skill by the user,especially since the ball-type formations have to be suitablymanipulated for them to pass through the guide slot.

The seal of Brazilian Patent P18100037 is then closed by folding thelever member outwardly and backwardly over the operating portion, thusfurther tightening the loop with a minimum of manual effort, andpressing it against the operating portion to engage a security closuremechanism, part of the closure strap then being hidden and inaccessiblefrom the outside since it lies between the lever member and theoperating portion. Once more, the fact that there are ball-typeformations on the closure strap results in a relatively bulky closuredevice.

The seal is opened by cutting the closure strap and it is thus utilized.It is therefore of necessity a throw-away type.

For these and other reasons security seals of the type in question aredifficult to apply and have not met with much success on the market.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to overcome theinconveniences indicated above by means of a pull-tight security seal,be it one-piece or not, that is easy to apply without prejudicing thesecurity of the closure.

Another object of this invention is to make it possible to re-use a sealof this type, after a first use, as a simple non-security pull-tight orstrap-type closure device.

A further object of the invention is to make it possible to re-use theseal, still as a security seal but together with a small additionalsecurity seal.

BRIEF DEFINITION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

According to the present invention a security seal of the above type hasa closure strap that is substantially planar, its locking formationscomprising a series of orifices distributed along its length, whereasthe formation for immobilising the strap on the lever member comprises afirst protuberance which, when the loop is formed, is adapted to bereceived in one of such orifices.

Preferably, the said first protuberance includes a hook which, when theloop is formed, passes through said orifice and engages the surface ofthe strap facing away from the operating portion.

The security locking formation on the lever member advantageouslycomprises a second protuberance in the form of a locking tooth adaptedto pass through another of the orifices in the closure strap, and thecorresponding locking formation on the operating portion comprises acavity adapted to receive such locking tooth in locking relationshipwhen the seal is closed.

The locking tooth, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, has abase fixed to the lever member, which is weakened so as to break whenthe seal is intentionally opened, leaving a corresponding opening in thelever member. This greatly facilitates the authorised opening of theseal.

In order to make the seal re-usable, but still as a security seal, itmay be used in combination with a separate seal to seal it during usessubsequent to the first use, when the said locking tooth as already beenbroken. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the separatesecurity seal comprises a plate to be placed over the lever member whenthe seal is in the closed configuration for subsequent uses, and aprotuberance in the form of a locking tooth substantially identical tothe locking tooth that was broken, the locking tooth on the separatesecurity seal also having a weakened base that can be broken onsubsequent opening of the original seal.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the operatingportion of the seal has an elastic locking tooth adapted, in the closedconfiguration of the seal, to pass through one of the orifices in theclosure strap and engage the strap so as to maintain the seal closed,this one-piece seal thus being suitable for use as a simple closuredevice without any security characteristics, after the locking tooth onthe lever member has been broken.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood from the following description,given by way of example, of presently preferred embodiments, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of a pull-tight or strap typeone-piece security seal, according to amp-referred embodiment of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a lower perspective view of the seal illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same seal at the moment of closure;

FIG. 4 is an upper perspective view of a special seal to be used on asubsequent use of the seal illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is a lower perspective view of the special seal illustrated inFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows, in perspective, the act of sealing closure of the seal ofFIGS. 1 to 3, when it is re-used with employment of the special seal ofFIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 shows the seal of FIGS. 1 to 3 already closed and sealed with theseal of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 8 is an upper perspective view, similar to FIG. 1, showing a secondembodiment of the security seal according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a lower perspective view of the seal illustrated in FIG. 8;and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the seal of FIGS. 8 and 9, at theinstant of closure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a one-piece securityseal 1 in the form of a presently preferred embodiment of thisinvention, comprises a single part molded in plastics material. The sealis constituted of a central operating portion 2 having a first end 3integral with a closure strap 4, and a second end 5 integral with alever member 6.

The closure strap has pointed free end and, along its length, a seriesof equally interspaced identical rectangular orifices 7. The operatingportion 2 has a generally planar outer side and an inner side formedwith two flanges 8 that are perpendicular to the remaining part ofportion 2 and parallel to each other. Flanges 8 are identical and eachhas a concave edge 9 facing the closure strap and formed with retainingteeth 10. The two concave edges 9 with their teeth 10 define a retainingregion together with the neck of a bag or the like when the seal isbeing used, as will become clear later. The top region of flanges 8,that is to say, the region furthest from the rest of portion 2, arejoined by two struts 11 a and 11 b, defining a passage through which thefree end 12 of closure strap 4 can be inserted, so as to form a loopessentially comprised by a length of strap 4 and the retaining region ofoperating portion 2 of the seal. Lever member 6 is joined to the secondend 5 of the operating portion 2 by means of a weakened or hinge line 13so that it can be folded outwardly over portion 2. At a certain distancefrom hinge line 13, the lever member has an opening 14 through which theclosure strap 4 can be passed. On the outer side of the lever member andslightly more distant from the hinge line, there is a small tooth 15facing away from the operating portion 2. In this way, on forming theloop with the closure strap 4, end 12 of strap 4 may be introducedthrough opening 14 and pulled so as to tighten the loop around the neckof a bag or other article to be sealed, and then tooth 15 may passthrough one of the rectangular orifices 7 in the strap so as todetermine the length of the loop.

Near the free end of lever member 6, on its outer side, there is a smalllocking tooth 17 having a weakened base 17 that joins the tooth 16 tomember 6. This base 17 is dimensioned so that, when it is broken, itleaves an opening substantially equal to the cross section of the tooth.

The distance between tooth 15 and tooth 16 is a multiple of the distancebetween orifices 7 in the closure strap 4, so that the tooth can passthrough one of those orifices when seal 1 is closed.

There are two slots 18 on each side of locking tooth 16, the purpose ofwhich will be described later.

Operating portion 2 is provided with a locking cavity 19 formed with aprotuberance on its upper or outer side, serving to receive the lockingtooth 16 and thus effect locking of seal 1 when the lever member 6 istotally folded outwardly and backwardly and squeezed against portion 2.

There are also two accessories on the operating portion 2. On one sideof portion 2, near end 3, a short thread 20 provided with a small pin 21that can be fitted into a small corresponding orifice 22 in portion 2 atits free end, serves to attach an address label or the like to seal 1.

On the same side of portion 2, a second accessory is in the form of anidentification plate 23, joined to portion 2 by means of a line ofweakening. This plate carries an identification or personalisation ofseal 1 by means of a individualised number, both in Arabic numerals andin bar code.

Finally, operating portion 2 of the a seal is provided externally andadjacent its first end 3, with a protuberance in the form of an elastictooth 24, the purpose of which will later become clear.

FIG. 3 shows the seal at the moment of closure. End 12 of closure strap4 has already been inserted through the passage formed between thestruts 11 a and 11 b and threaded through opening 14 in lever member 6.End 12 was then pulled to tighten the loop 25 formed around the neck ofa bag (not shown for clarity), after which tooth 15 was fitted throughone of the orifices 7 in the strap, thus determining the length of strap4 to be used in closure of the neck of the bag, with a first manualtension. With the remaining part of strap 4 laid along the external sideof lever member 6, this latter was then folded outwardly and backwardlyover operating portion 2, so that the configuration shown in FIG. 3could be assumed. As this operation was carried out, the thickness oflever 6 created a small lever arm with respect to hinge line 13,producing a final tightening of loop 25, ensuring in this mannerconsiderable tightening of the neck of the bag being closed.

Starting from the configuration of FIG. 3, lever member 6 is pressedagainst operating portion 2 so that locking tooth 16 can enter cavity 19where it becomes locked in place, sealing seal 1. At this instant theelastic tooth 24 passes through one of the orifices 7 in closure strap4, hooking itself onto one of the edges of that orifice. In this way theseal is closed and the bag sealed with a seal personalised with thenumber on identification plate 23.

When the bag reaches its destination and opening is authorised, it issufficient to pull the free end of closure strap 4 away from the bag forbase 17 of locking tooth 16 to break, for the tooth to fall and thelever member, as already mentioned, to be left with an opening havingthe dimensions of the fallen tooth.

Notwithstanding the fact that the sealing system has already beenbroken, seal 1—according to one aspect of the invention—can still beused on further occasions, either as a seal or as a simple closuredevice without any security characteristics. Firstly, the identificationplate 23 may be removed by tearing it off along the line of weakening.The device may then be applied to another bag and closed, with anydegree of security, thanks to the closure that is assured by elastictooth 24 that receives the end of lever member 6.

Alternatively, seal 1 may be re-used as a security seal using the smallspecial seal 26 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in those figures,special seal 26 comprises a plate 27 having dimensions substantiallyidentical to those of the outer side of lever member 6. On the outsideof plate 27, there is an identification number similar to that of plate23 that was removed after the first use of seal 1. Once more, thisnumber is unique and serves to personalise the combination formed byseals 1 and 26.

On the inner or underside of plate 27, there is a locking tooth 28identical to tooth 16, that also has a breakable base. Near tooth 28there is a pair of positioning bosses 29 and, longitudinally spacedtherefrom, a pair of elastic hooks 30. On closure of seal 1 in themanner described above with the engagement of the end of lever member 6on elastic hook 24, the special seal 26 may be applied with lockingtooth 28 entering cavity 19 in portion 2, through the opening left inlever member 6 by the breakage of tooth 16 when the seal was firstopened. The positioning bosses 29 will enter the two slots 18 and theelastic hooks 30 will pressure fit into one of the orifices 7 in theclosure strap 4, all as illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 shows the final configuration of seal 1 when sealed in its closedposition by application of special seal 26.

It will, be understood that seal 1 of the present invention is anextremely versatile device because:

-   -   for its first use it is a one-piece security seal, that is to        say, it may be closed and sealed as a single part without any        thread or cord to close the bag or, furthermore, any separate        element at all to effect sealing;    -   for later uses, it can be used again as a security seal by using        a second seal of very simple manufacture and reduced cost; and    -   for later uses, it can also be used as a simple pull-tight tie        device without any security characteristics.

Apart from this, seal 1 is extremely easy and practical to apply. Thepassage defined between struts 11 a and 11 b greatly facilitatesformation of the loop around the neck of the bag to be closed. The factthat the closure strap 4 then passes through an opening in the levermember 6 where, after an initial manual tightening, it is caught ontohook 15, also facilitates handling of the seal during its application.Handling is further facilitated by the fact that closure strap 4 issmooth, there being no unnecessary protuberances for fixing it onclosure of the device, as ocurred in the prior art.

In addition, the lever arm defined by the configuration as describedpermits the user to apply an excellent final tightening on folding levermember 6 outwardly and backwardly in preparation for closure of theseal.

Finally, the use of tooth 16 with its weakened base 17 promotes a verysimple manual opening of the seal, and thus of the bag, without the useof special tools or scissors and consequently without any risk ofdamaging the bag.

These and other advantages will be apparent to a person versed in theart.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the seal according to thepresent invention. This seal differs from that described above due tothe fact that it is truly throw-away in that it really can be used justonce. However, it is extremely simple to apply, extremely efficient andeven easier to open with destruction of the seal.

The seal of FIGS. 8 to 10 is very similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 3 andtherefore, to facilitate understanding, the reference numbers differonly where there are differences in the configuration. Only thedifferences will now be described.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 10, seal 1′ has a closure strap 4′ thatextends, not from the first end 3 of the operating portion, but ratherfrom an approximately central region thereof, on the underside, adjacentflanges 8. Closure strap 4′ may be manufactured as a separate part,being fitted into the region between flanges 8. The advantage of thisconfiguration is that, when the neck of the bag or sack is of smalldiameter, the loop formed has a shorter straight part under operatingportion 2, compared with seal 1 of FIGS. 1 to 3. This permits a tighterand more efficient closure.

Another important difference is that the end part 31′ of lever member6′, distant from operating part 2, has a transverse wakening 32 thatallows it to be torn off from the rest of the lever member, the alreadymentioned locking formation or security tooth 16′ being joined to end 31by means of a weakened base 33.

At the same time, the accessory or identification plate 23 of seal 1 ofFIGS. 1 to 3 is substituted by an identification plate 23′ that isstrongly joined at 34 to end part 31 and joined laterally to the rest oflever member 6′ by means of a weakening line 35.

FIG. 10 shows the seal 1′ in the closed configuration. To open the seal,it is sufficient to hold the free end of plate 23′ and pull it stronglyupwards and to the left (in the drawing), breaking weakening line 35,separating the plate from the lever member 6′ and then breaking thetransverse weakening 32. This removes entirely the end part 31′ of levermember 6′ and, at the same time, breaks weakened base 33 of securitytooth 16′. Tooth 16′, thus separated from part 31′ stays locked incavity 19 in operating portion 2. The seal is thus destroyed and cannotbe re-utilised. Opening of the seal is extremely simple and, once open,the seal is destroyed to an extent that it cannot be re-used illicitly.

It is to be understood that seal 1 and special seal 26 represent theinvention in its presently preferred form. However, the invention shouldnot be limited to the combination of all their characteristics asdescribed and illustrated in the drawings or even to their equivalents,but rather to the aspects specifically defined in the claims.

1. A pull-tight one-piece security seal, adapted for closing bags or thelike, comprising: an operating portion having a first end and a secondend and, between said ends, a contact region adapted for contacting aneck region of a bag; a substantially flat closure strap, united at afirst end to the operating portion, which extends away from the firstend of the operating portion to a second free end, it being providedalong its length with through-orifices that permit it to be immobilizedin relation to the operating portion when it is passed around the neckof the bag to form a loop and the seal is closed; and a lever memberextending from and integral with the second end of the operating portionat a hinge region, the lever member being foldable over the operatingportion, on an opposite side of the latter in relation to the contactregion, the lever member having a security locking formation for securelocking co-operation with a corresponding security locking formation onthe operating portion when the seal is closed and the lever memberfurther having a through-opening, spaced from said hinge region, forpassage of the closure strap, and an immobilizing tooth for passingthrough and co-operating with one of the closure strap through-orificesto determine the effective length of the said closure strap when theseal is closed, at least one of the security locking formations passingthrough another of the closure strap through-orifices prior to saidsecure locking co-operation between the locking formations when saidlever member is folded over the operating portion to tighten said loop.2. Seal according to claim 1, wherein the region of contact with theneck of a bag, on the operating portion, defines a passage through whichthe closure strip is passed in forming the loop.
 3. Seal according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein the security locking formation on the lever membercomprises a locking tooth, adapted to pass through another of theclosure strap through-orifices, and the corresponding locking formationon the operating portion comprises a cavity adapted to receive saidlocking tooth in locking relation when the seal is closed.
 4. Sealaccording to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first end of the closure strap isjoined to the operating portion at a middle region of the latter,adjacent said contact region.
 5. Seal according to claim 3, wherein thesaid locking tooth has a base fixing it to the lever member which isweakened so as to break on intentional opening of the seal, leaving acorresponding opening in the lever member.
 6. Seal according to claim 5,combined with a separate security seal for sealing the one-piece sealduring uses subsequent to the first use, when the locking tooth on thelever member is broken, the separate security seal comprising a plate tobe placed over the lever member when the one-piece security seal is in aclosed configuration for subsequent uses, and a protuberance in the formof a locking tooth substantially identical to the locking tooth that wasbroken, the locking tooth on the separate security seal also having aweakened base that can be broken on subsequent opening of the one-pieceseal.
 7. Seal according to claim 6, wherein the lever member is suchthat, in the closed position of the one-piece seal, it leaves at leastone other of the closure strap through-orifices exposed, the separatesecurity seal further having a locking means which, when it is appliedto seal the one-piece seal in a subsequent use, passes through said oneother of the closure strap through-orifices and elastically fixes theseparate seal to the one-piece seal at a point remote from its lockingtooth.
 8. Seal according to claim 4, wherein the operating portion,adjacent said first end, has an elastic tooth adapted, in the closedconfiguration of the one-piece seal, to pass through one of the closurestrap through-orifices and to catch itself therein so as to maintain theseal closed, the one-piece seal then being usable as a simple closuredevice without any security characteristics once the locking tooth onthe lever member has been broken.
 9. Seal according to claim 1, whereinthe end of the lever member that is remote from the operating portionhas a weakening that allows it to be torn off from the rest of the levermember, the security locking formation being joined to said end by meansof a weakened joint.
 10. Seal according to claim 9, wherein the remoteend of the lever member is integral with a tab removably attached to therest of the lever member.